


i know i'll be there

by Crykea



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Gen, Introspection, Klaus and Vanya sibling bonding time!, Literal Sleeping Together, No Incest, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Relationships, Post-Season/Series 02, Sibling Bonding, Sibling Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 11:14:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29349504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crykea/pseuds/Crykea
Summary: Once the siblings have escaped the Sparrow Academy, Five and Allison find the group of them a place to stay. It's not the most luxurious and it's a bit cramped, but it's nice. It's nice to, for once, be around her siblings without the heat death of the universe at stake. They finally have a moment to breathe.OrVanya can't sleep. Neither can Klaus. They take a walk together with no destination in mind and talk about nothing. It's a rare moment of relaxation for the both of them and they don't plan on wasting it.
Relationships: Klaus Hargreeves & Vanya Hargreeves, Number Five | The Boy & Vanya Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, The Hargreeves Family
Comments: 4
Kudos: 67





	i know i'll be there

**Author's Note:**

> i just.............it's snowy here and i love these two being good sibs to each other :) snowy nighttime walk!!!!!!!!

Vanya knew she wasn’t supposed to leave their little apartment, but she was honestly starting to get a bad case of cabin fever. Five and Allison had found them a place to stay upon returning to 2019 once they’d all gotten out of the old mansion and regrouped. It was a cramped thing, but by no means small. The apartment had a little kitchen and a bathroom with no tub, but it also had a pull-out couch in the tiny living room and two other bedrooms which had been claimed immediately. Five took the couch in the living room, claiming that he couldn’t guarantee he’d ever be able to sleep through the night and it would be easiest to get up and start working if he didn’t have to wake any of the other siblings along the way. This left one of the rooms to Allison and Vanya (occasionally Klaus), and the other to the boys (occasionally Klaus). Klaus had been wandering between the two rooms ever since they’d found the place, unwilling to sleep on his own and a little more clingy than she seemed to remember him being before. She’d even woken up more than once to see him fast asleep on the pull-out couch with a sleep-ruffled Five sitting next to his head sipping a mug of coffee. The clinginess was understandable after… Ben. 

Vanya and Klaus had agreed not to bring it up to anyone quite yet. There hadn’t been a good moment what with them running all over the city and trying to find information on getting back their past. Klaus was different though. She could tell that the others had at least picked up on the change a little bit, but after Ben, she could see every small change that she never used to be able to pick up on. The way Klaus always made two cups of coffee for himself and then claimed the second was for her all along. The way he’d started speaking less and reading more (The most notable change that everyone else had also picked up on). It wasn’t like he’d stopped talking entirely and started reading Five’s books on astrophysics, but the change was still obvious enough. Instead of frantically filling every iota of silence, it was no longer uncommon to see him simply sitting quietly knitting in the living room or leaning against the counter next to another sibling in silence. There were also the moments where his eyes would flick off the side before he’d stop and wince and pretend they hadn’t.

As soon as they had settled down, they’d had a very long evening discussion between the six of them, going over house rules that were expected to be expected no matter the cost and with no judgement. They’d learned the hard way twice now that their family desperately needed to work on their communication if they all hoped to keep the world not-dead. Some of the rules were old-hat and basically expected, but Five was insistent that they write up a long list of boundaries. For example, Diego’s stutter. He’d been getting better at hiding it, but in tense moments-- such as the supper with their father in the past (Vanya still winced when she realized how none of them had stuck up for him)-- it picked up again. There was to be no making fun of his speech and patience if it ever picked back up. 

In this way, they went around the circle listing off one boundary or rule at a time, until the notebook page in Five’s lap was spilling out onto a second and they’d run out of things to add. It was… It was genuinely nice to sit down and talk to her siblings and just communicate with them properly-- air their grievances in a way that didn’t end with a fistfight or the end of the world. 

Five requested that they each take turns going out to get essentials and groceries, but that he accompany whoever was going just in case. Allison requested that they make her use her rumours as little as possible. Klaus threw in his two cents, asking for a warning before people came up behind him or made loud noises like slamming doors or cupboards. Alcohol and drugs were not allowed to enter the apartment or be stored there either at the request of Allison. Dad was a topic to only be brought up in cases of planning, a rule put in place by Luther of all people. They made sure everyone was clear on the fact that if the rules were broken, it would be a conversation between everyone, not just a blown out fight. They’d only been in the apartment for about a month, but so far they had all had quite a few of these conversations. Learned behaviour was impossible to change overnight, as they were all learning first hand.

Five’s last addition to the list had been his rule (an addendum to his first) that no one should leave the house on their own to be safe and furthermore, no one should leave the house at night. It was too risky, he said, when they still weren’t familiar with the surroundings and while their replacements could be scanning the city looking for them. Since escaping the 60’s and later their old mansion, Five had very obviously been a ball of anxiety. He’d been losing sleep and jittery to the point where Vanya was surprised he hadn’t reverted to his younger self with regards to his powers. When Five was still tiny like the rest of them, back when he’d first discovered his powers, he didn’t have a great handle on them so any time he got upset or agitated, his little body would just start blinking all over the place until he calmed down. 

Vanya smiled at the memory, watching the faded pink lights on the stove clock blink with each second that passed. Her hands curled around the mug in front of her which contained her half-drunk mug of now-cold chamomile tea. It wasn’t just Five that was losing sleep. They each took turns, it seemed, spending a bit too long sitting at the table in their little kitchenette. Everyone was sleeping, which was, honestly, stranger than one would think. The smell of the tea in front of her was grounding, and she was definitely tired enough to go to bed, but every time she closed her eyes she couldn’t stop  _ imagining. _ So much had happened in such a short amount of time. She missed Sissy and Harlan. She missed mom. She sighed, leaning down to rest her forehead against her arm. The position made her neck twinge as she had to crane it to the side slightly so as not to stick her head straight into her mug. She sat there, folded over herself like that for a while mind blank, feeling herself breathe and blink. The sounds from outside were quiet at this hour, but still louder to her than they would be to the others. A car honked as the owner locked their car down the street. In an apartment three down from theirs, someone’s alarm clock went off just as it did every other day at this time five days a week. Two cats fought in an alley somewhere, hissing and spitting. Behind her, one of the bedroom doors clicked open and someone softly padded out of the bedroom, stopping when they saw her.

“Hey, Klaus.” She said without raising her head from her arms. No one else had soft padding footsteps like him. Recognizing footsteps was such a weird thing. Her therapist said it was a trauma response. Doesn’t matter.

“Vanvan. What are you doing up this late?” His voice was quiet to match hers. The last thing they wanted to do was wake up Five on the couch not five feet away. She raised her head up to smile at him tiredly.

“Can’t stop thinking.” She said softly. “You?”

“Same deal here. Man, this alternate reality shit is exhausting.” He flopped over dramatically to rest his head and arms on the kitchen counter.

“I’m sure the grouch over there would agree with you on that one.” she nodded her head in the direction of the back of the couch. In his sleep as if reacting to his name, Five rolled over on the couch and puffed out a sigh. The siblings stood in silence for a few seconds staring at the couch until they were certain their brother wasn’t waking up. “Do you wanna do something since you can’t sleep either?” she asked after a suitable amount of time had passed. Usually, when it was Klaus and her, they’d crawl through the window in the ‘girls’ room’ and sit on the fire escape together. Klaus would smoke, and they’d watch the sky together. Sometimes she’d steal a cigarette from him just for something to do with her hands. A late frost had rolled in in the past few days, though, and the metal of the fire escape was horribly cold. She looked up at her sibling after he hesitated, not responding.

“Y’know,” He started, looking slightly off to the side, not quite meeting her eyes, “I know we aren’t allowed, but there is nothing I want to do more than go on a walk right now. Too much energy, I feel like I’m about to vibrate out of my skin.”

Vanya herself hesitated at that, eyes unconsciously flicking back to the couch. She had to admit, though, she was getting antsy. Groceries and supply runs were Allison’s job this week, so neither she nor Klaus had been really able to leave the apartment in a number of weeks. What harm could one walk do? They could do a small walk around the block and come back before anyone even woke up. They could leave a note. Or more. Several notes.

“Let’s do it.”

“Oooooh, Vanny! Am I a bad influence on you?” Klaus mimed clapping his hands as he breathed out a cheer.

“Probably,” She grinned, “Listen, we need to leave a ton of notes, though, so they don’t have even a split second to be worried if one of them wakes up.”

“Can do!” Klaus whispered joyfully, already rushing to the other side of the counter to grab a pad of sticky notes from the pile they’d amassed in their month here to leave notes to each other. Selecting a thicker pad of bright orange paper for himself, Klaus grabbed a blue stack and tossed it to her as he began scribbling out notes to the siblings. She had to cover her mouth from laughing as they decorated the house in orange and blue sticky notes, leaving the majority of them divided between the bedroom doors, the front door, and the coffee table that sat in front of Five’s couch. These would be hell to clean up when they got back, hopefully before anyone had even had a chance to read any of them. Part of her wanted to leave them up anyways just by nature of how ridiculous it was.

As quietly as possible, the two of them got dressed in the winter gear Allison had picked up from the thrift store down the street. Even though she had bought them all their own gear, Klaus still found himself stealing Allison’s boots and Diego’s jacket. To be fair, Vanya had made Klaus grab her Luther’s scarf from the top of the scarf and she was wearing Five’s small black mittens (handmade by Klaus). They were simply warmer, what could she say. Snickering quietly to themselves, the pair grabbed their keys to the apartment. They each had a set of their own keys, differentiated with their own little keychain charms that Diego had picked out when it was his week to go out. He’d passed them out to everyone with an embarrassed look on his face and tried to escape to hide in the bedroom before anyone could even say anything (Klaus had tackled him to the floor in a hug before he got too far). They were cheap little things he’d found at the mall, but Vanya cherished hers. Klaus’s keys had a little pair of metal sunglasses with rhinestones on them and Vanya’s had a tiny guitar (They hadn’t had a violin).

They took the stairs. 

Vanya and Klaus both had elevator related rules on the sheet. Everyone gathered why Vanya would add that, but Klaus had gotten a couple weird looks upon his request. Vanya knew how to read between the lines. She didn’t bring it up.

Even the air in the hallway outside their door was colder than inside their apartment. One thing was for sure, it was always warm at their place with the number of people living there. It was only just 4 below, but the wind was cold and biting and the air was dry where it stung her cheeks. The door to the apartment building hissed as it closed behind the two of them. Snow was very lightly falling from the sky. 

It was beautiful honestly. The sky was dark but seemed alight in the way it only ever was in the winter. Overhead, the streetlights cast yellow light over the white ground making the snow sparkle. Klaus sighed heavily as if he was exhaling for the first time in hours. They stood still for a moment simply taking it in before Klaus hooked his arm through hers and tugged her away down the street. Almost immediately, the muted quiet of nighttime (It wasn’t that quiet. The snow dampened the sound, but to Vanya, it was never quiet) was replaced by her older sibling’s voice. Wow, she had older siblings now. It was hard to believe that they were all different ages for the first time in their lives.

“-- So yeah, I’m not sure about this book? It’s old so my brain keeps tricking me into thinking it’s boring but it’s actually not too bad. I only just started it so I don’t know much but it literally did start with familial abuse so it can only go up from here or something? I have no idea it was just at the top of the pile Five brought home last time he was at the library. I would honestly be dying of boredom literally constantly if that gremlin hadn’t decided to start those trips. We don’t even have a laptop between us, Vanya, this alternate reality is so boring. You’d think coming back from the 60’s we’d go back to the  _ normal _ technology, but instead, we’re stuck in the stone age and I’m reading  _ Jane Eyre _ to stay entertained.” Vanya smiled softly as she listening to her sibling talk.

“Oh, I’ve read  _ Jane Eyre _ !” She piped up when he took a breath. It was hard to stop smiling. Wow, the fresh air was nice. “I had to read it for one of the mandatory English Literature classes back when I was still in school.”

“Didn’t you go to music school?”

“I mean, yeah, but music wasn’t the only thing they taught there. We had to take a bunch of electives in different subjects to graduate.”

“Oh man, did you have to do math too?” Klaus feigned a disgusted look which quickly melted into a grin when he saw her smile.

“Yeah, I bet I could rival Five with my math skills. All this… algebra that I know.” A laugh bubbled out of her. “You know, I don’t think I remember a single thing I learned in any of my classes.”

“Besides Jane Eyre.”

“Besides Jane Eyre.” It was so strange being out wandering around after all the shops were closed. She was never the type to walk around the city at night.

“You have to promise not to tell me any spoilers.” He said gravely.

“I barely remember the names of any of the characters. I don’t think I  _ could _ give you spoilers.” She looked back at him, taking in the way the snow was dusting over his hair. It looked nice grown out and curly. He looked healthier than he had in a long time. The ’60s did him good in a way. “Besides, does it count as spoilers if the thing’s been out for, like, one hundred years”

“You keep your base level knowledge about this book to yourself, you hear?” He joked, shaking his fist at her comically.

“If I remembered any parts of it, I’d spoil them for you right now.” She teased back.

“You wound me, Vanyaya!” He clutched at the lapels of his-- Diego’s-- jacket in mock offense, making her laugh. It was nice to be around her siblings without the direct threat of world death. Eventually, the two came upon a park. Klaus followed her example as she plopped herself down onto a snow dusted bench just off the sidewalk. It faced toward the darkness of the empty park with the streetlights and road behind them. She tucked her face down slightly into Luther’s scarf, sticking her covered hands underneath her thighs. The snow was cold and fluffy in the way that immediately began to soak into her jeans. Klaus took a deep breath and leaned fully against the back of the bench, letting his arms fall limply at his sides. He hadn’t worn a hat or gloves. Vanya grabbed the hand closest to her and held it in her gloved one.

For just a moment, they sat in the quiet. If Vanya really focused, she could pick up on the smallest plinking sound as tiny snowflakes landed on the wood of the bench. Kilometres away, a car backfired. In front of them, somewhere in the park, a family of squirrels chittered from where they were tucked away in a tree. A bird called from somewhere far away. Klaus breathed out and watched the fog drift up.

“Is it quiet for you?” He said after a while, voice almost as quiet as it had been back at the apartment.

“It never really is.” She said, matching his tone. Hedging a guess she squeezed the hand she held in hers. “What about you?”

“Yeah, no. Haven’t known ‘quiet’ for a while.” He didn’t seem surprised that she asked, but he did squeeze her hand back.

“The city is… very loud. It was different on the farm. Country sounds are still loud, but I don’t think I’ve ever lived with this level of noise before now that I’m not taking those… meds.”

“Same deal. Haven’t had drugs in a very long time.”

“They made them quiet? The drugs?”

“Yeah. Otherwise, they just scream a lot.”

“Some here now?”

“A couple. It’s quieter than some places.”

“I feel that. The snow kind of muffles it a bit.” She pushed her hair out of her face with her free hand. “Are you cold?”

“Nah. It takes a lot to make me actually cold. I’m just kind of base level cold all the time”

“I have shared a bed with you so I am  _ fully _ aware.” Vanya reached up and patted him on top of his snow covered head watching half the snowflakes melt into his curls and the other half rain down around his face and stick to his eyelashes. “Unless there’s some ghost sneaking into my bed and sticking their toes against my legs. I’m gonna make you start wearing socks to bed.”

“You wouldn’t”

“I would!” They fell into momentary silence as they stared into the darkness of the park in front of them. “I miss Sissy,” Vanya said eventually.

“I know…” Klaus shuffled closer and sunk down until his head was resting against her shoulder. The position couldn’t have possible been comfortable. “I miss Dave.”

Vanya hummed neutrally, not wanting to scare him off from sharing. He’d never mentioned a Dave before, but she knew that if she asked, he’d shut himself off again.

“Dave was the ‘Vietnam Fling’ I was telling you about.”

“Ah. How’d you get to Vietnam?”

“In the Doomsday week, I did my own little foray into time travel after Five’s asshole coworkers shot up the place and took me. Met Dave in Vietnam. How’d you meet Sissy again?”

“She actually hit me with her car” Vanya smushed the scarf against her mouth to hide her laugh. “She’s the reason I lost my memory in the first place. Can you believe it?”

“Wow, talk about a meet-cute.” He laughed into her shoulder, only laughing harder when she brought up her free hand to thwap at his shoulder. 

With no warning, a light flashed behind them, causing them both to shriek and spin around only to come face to face with Five. Five was tapping one foot on the sidewalk, his arm crossed in front of his chest and an eyebrow raised questioningly. Vanya couldn’t help but notice that he was wearing the fuzzy purple hat Allison had bought for herself and hid at the back of the closet. Before doing anything else, Vanya threw a steadying hand out to grip Klaus’ shoulder whose breathing was coming out quicker than before. He swallowed thickly and shot her a thankful look. Five must have noticed the way Klaus had buried his fist in the front of the jacket he was wearing because he cleared his throat.

“I’m sorry for appearing without warning, but I only just found you. I was blinking around the block I didn’t know you’d be here or I would have warned you.” Klaus flapped his hand at his brother, finally getting his breathing back under control. Vanya kept her hand on his shoulder. “You know you aren’t supposed to leave” 

“I was getting cabin fever, Five. I just needed to stretch my legs and get some fresh air. Besides, we kept with the buddy system  _ and _ left all those notes for you guys in case someone else woke up”

“Yes I saw the notes.” He rolled his eyes, bringing one gloveless hand up to push up Allison’s hat which was steadily slipping down his head. “Thank you for leaving the notes. And for… taking each other. I just worry.”

“We got it, little guy, but this whole claustrophobia thing Vanya and I’ve got going on isn’t just for, like, elevators and shitty basement cells? It’s not great to just be cooped up for weeks in there. We’re lucky we haven’t committed murder between the six of us.” Klaus moved closer to Vanya once more, throwing one arm around her shoulders. “What time is it anyway?”

“When I left the apartment it was almost four.”

“Wow, we’ve been out here for a while.” Klaus crowed, leaning back on his heels for a moment, dragging Vanya with him and making her laugh yet again. Five’s face softened as he saw the display.

“It’s almost a normal time for morning, anyways.” Five started. If Vanya didn’t know any better, she’d say the tone of his voice was almost bashful. “What do you two say to going to that diner near the apartment? They’re open 24 hours. We could go get coffee? Or breakfast for everyone?”

“I probably shouldn’t have coffee, but sure!” Vanya smiled warmly at him. She wiggled her toes inside her boots to keep her blood flowing. Five narrowed his eyes.

“Wait, have either of you slept at all?”

“I got an hour or so in,” Klaus said.

“Uh, no. I couldn’t sleep before. Hence the walk. I think I left half a mug of chamomile on the kitchen table.”

“Okay,” Five ground out, pinching the bridge of his nose as though he had a headache. He looked back up at the two of them, one eyebrow quirked yet again. “New plan, We’re going to go get breakfast for you two and then I will personally see to it that both of you get at least a little sleep when we get back to the apartment.”

Klaus smiled at the two of them, his tongue sticking out slightly between his teeth. “Deal.”

Vanya stayed stuck to her sibling's side with Five on the other side of him holding Klaus’ other hand as they walked through the chilly air to the diner he mentioned. Vanya wasn’t sure where he was getting this money from, but true to his promise, He bought both Vanya and Klaus a plate of breakfast and a large mug of coffee for himself. At Vanya’s behest, he also flagged down the waitress to get a couple slices of toast for himself to eat. They chatted idly, relaxing in the warmth of the diner until the sky had just barely started to lighten. Klaus brought their dishes up to the counter, had a brief conversation with the lady behind the till, and meandered back over to their table, handing both of them a little caramel candy from a dish at the front.

Just as he’d promised, by the time the sun had risen outside, the three of them were curled up together on Five’s pull-out couch. The blinds remained shuttered, keeping the rays of sunlight from waking them up. As the remaining three eventually woke up and left their respective rooms, they were greeted with the sight of Five curled half upright on the couch with an open book resting on his chest. He was snoring softly and had one hand buried in each of his sibling’s hair as Vanya and Klaus lay beside him curled up tightly and fast asleep. A discarded copy of Jane Eyre lay behind Klaus. Looking around the room, there was a hastily made pile of winter wear with assorted pieces from everyone’s wardrobe. Allison’s soft purple hat still sat on Five’s head, falling down over his eyes, and Luther’s scarf was still tangled around Vanya and Klaus. A flurry of orange and blue sticky notes remained stuck to all the walls and doors of the house with Vanya and Klaus’ goofy handwriting scrawled across them notifying the house that they were heading out to take a walk. Five must’ve gone out looking for them.

A box of doughnuts sat on the counter with a single purple sticky note on the lid covered in Five’s handwriting declaring that the box was breakfast. The remaining three siblings exchanged glances at the chaos that appeared to have ensued while they were asleep. Allison huffed out a laugh. They figured they’d leave the three still-sleeping figures alone for the time being. They needed the rest.

**Author's Note:**

> find me on tumblr @crykea


End file.
